Mental Check

Yesterday something interesting happened to me that I haven't yet experienced in aviation. When I got to the airport in the morning, Amy told me we were just going to preflight the plane and fly without really doing much briefing on our lesson. The winds were supposed to pick up at around 9:30 and so it was best we get in the air before that. I knew mostly how to do the approaches she was going to teach me, so I felt briefing was not necessary.

After I had the plane preflighted, I went back into the hangar to get a drink and gather my things before the flight. As Amy and I walked back out, she commented "See this?" She pointed to her hair. "Its a natural windsock. I don't think the wind is coming from 320.

AWOS (Automated Weather Observation System)is exactly what it sounds like. It reports weather at the airport like wind speed, direction, altimeter setting, ceiling (cloud layer) sky condition (visibility), etc. On this day, AWOS was reporting winds 15 knots at 320 (north being 360). Amy said "I don't think the wind is coming from 320, that just doesn't sound right." Sure enough, as we taxied to do our run up on the ramp, we looked at the windsock. The wind direction was almost 180 degrees from what AWOS was reporting!

As we started our run up (the preflight check before takeoff, usually done on the ramp or out of the way of other taxiing traffic)we heard Oliver (another instructor) and his student on final for 35. The weather was still reporting wind at 320, when in reality it was directly behind them! They were about to land in a tailwind with about 15 knots. We observed their plane coming in fast and high, a very unstabilized approach. Amy was about to inform them to go around when we saw the nose pitch up and heard the roar of the engine as the plane started its go-around. Amy, notified the FBO of the problem and then had it corrected.

What I have learned from this experience is to constantly question your surroundings. If something doesn't feel right, don't blow it off. Ask yourself if you have the right information, if you have completed all of the proper checklists, what is the situation now, and how can it change for the better or worse? If you feel uneasy about something, DONT FLY until you have identified the problem.

And by observing the other aircraft, I can affirm what has been drilled into me time and time again. If the approach doesn't feel right, go around. Don't try and salvage the landing, you might not be able to salvage the aircraft afterwords.